Man of the Mist
by NeonZangetsu
Summary: Long has he been known as the "Demon of the Mist" A simple man who took simple jobs, no matter the stakes, no matter the risk. Then his master was murdered. Armed with vengeance and a cursed fruit, he sets out to avenge his death. NarutoxHarem.


**A/N: For any of you that have read Mist, this is the long awaited rewrite that I promised you! Much has changed, as you're about to find out, and, seeing as I am no longer the naive impertuous writer I was back then, hopefully you will enjoy reading this new version as much as I enjoyed writing it.**

**Enjoy!**

**_A Service Performed_**

Someone had set fire to the Human Auction House.

He was a handsome fellow, if intense. His blond hair was disheveled, his blue eyes intelligent, his features balanced. Whisker marks tripled each cheek, cheeks that had once dimpled with a constantly bright and enthused grin; no matter the situation or mission. Now, he was intense. His face was hardened, his visage freed of the baby fat that had plagued him in his younger years. Chiseled and nigh but expressionless, that face bore an eerie series of markings, deep, crimson lines running from righ ear to left, drooping down his chin and neck and lips, curling toward his forehead, which pursed into a scowl with the tattoos as he flung a hand forward, two fingers jutting prominently outward from within the sleeves of his matte-black cloak.

Seconds later, door to Peterman's base was suddenly torn asunder.

"Eh?" The men inside turned, their slavery forgotten. And with good reason. A blond youth stepped over the ruined door and flung it outward, exposing the harsh shafts of light lurking just beyond the arch. Standing there, outlined against the brightness, his shadow enveloped the room. He stepped forward, aware of the rifles leveled upon him, the bullets piercing his body, and the screams of fear and disbelief that resounded throughout the afternoon.

He waited.

_Waited._

Then he turned the mask of judgement upon them.

_"Slaver!"_

He reached to the the power of his cursed fruit. It came, joyfully.

Someone was screaming, a terrible scream compounded a hundred times by the darkness to shake every hall and tunnel of the hideout. Naruto laughed and flung his arms out. As they passed in front of him, he saw that his skin had totally disappeared beneath the all-absorbing wriggling blackness. Nor did the flames stop at the bounds of his body. They lashed out from his arms_-out farther and farther, like great wings-_and came down on either side, barely registering the slaver's last desperate attacks.

As if through smoke, there were glimpses of gleaming iridescent black skin, the crescents of exaggerated muscles, a face like judgement, with brows pronounced and frowning and glossy black eyes that leaked hellish blue flames. He could see the terror etched into their eyes as they beheld the flames, whipping and crackling from his body. He didn't bother to introduce himself; these men would tell no tales of the massacre that would take place here, this day.

He marched past a knot of gaunt slaves, wide-eyed at the sight of him. He flicked his fingers twice, and their chains clattered to the floor, later, they were out the door, hurtling themselves toward safety and freedom. He didn't blame them any. They were wise to flee while they had the chance. He stepped behind them, his shoulders framing the door as he stalked into the inner depths of the storehouse.

The next door he met splintered before his approach.

He stepped into the room, and found dozens upon dozens of rifles leveled at him.

"Which one of you is Peterman?" He murmurred softly, deadly, his eyes sweeping across the room, taking in the hulking man towering above the rest. Said man was currently coweing in a corner, so he really needn't have bothered. He already knew what was going to happen, it was simply a matter of formality. With this act, this noble rite of sheer righteous redemption, he would cleanse this place, and deal a major blow to the slaving industry.

_"You!"_ He thundered, to which the man whimpered and simultaneously soiled himself. He didn't pity him any. The fool had brought this fate upon himself. The moment the base of Peterman had been pointed out to him, he'd been on a mission. That mission, simply put, was the complete and utter annihilation of the slavers who resided in this abode. He was grateful that the other's couldn't see his chosen form at the moment. He wouldn't want to be see _himself_ like this; let alone the judgement he was about to wreak.

But back to the matter at hand. It was time.

_Time for vengeance._

"Peterman!" He shouted, bringing his arms up in a devastating sweep of motion. "I judge you! I find you wanting!" He screamed and let the black flames whoosh over his skin in excess, casting aside the slavers who suddenly boiled forward at him. "You! You! All of you!" He thrust his hands for the ceiling, causing several of them to flinch, and other to cringe at the sudden movement.

"I condemn you all!" He bellowed, whirling on the two men closest to him. "For your sins!"

Twins swords, smoking blade of the purest azure blades, slid from his hands. He made them glisten, wrapping them in a thin sheathe of moisture. He slashed with the left blade. It didn't so much as cut as devour. There was barely any resistance as the blade passed through noseguard, nose, chin, tabard, gambeson, and stomach. The man looked down, then touched his split face where blood gushed. He screamed, and his entrails spurted out.

The other bolted, shrieking.

_"Murderer!" _The slaver's stomach opened, but by then Naruto had moved on to his next victim.

_"Raper!"_ He yelled. He slid the foremost of his swords through the man's loins. It would be a bad death. Three more died before anyone attacked him. He danced past a spear and then lopped off it's head, followed soon therafter by that of its owner. In minutes, the entire camp was in pandemonium. Men screamed, shouting obscenities, gibbering about a ghost, a demon, a phantasm that swept down upon them and offered naught but travesty with its winds of death.

He felt them crunch beneath those mighty wings like beetles popping under his boot. Their bodies broke like shells and the softness within was ground to gory smears on the rocks below. And throughout it all, not a single drop of blood spattered upon him. Any moisture that dared near this demonic angel of death simple evaporated. He was truly death incarnate; come to reclaim what was lost; come to deliver his own brand of justice.

The mist sang power and hatred and strength. _This is death, this is retribution, and I love it._

_"Torturer!"_ This time the sword appeared only as it jutted out of the slaver's back. The man was lifted on the sword and flung headlong into the side of an iron cauldron. He jerked, his flesh sizzling on the coals, but he did not roll away. His festering remains gasped and left nothing behind but dust. Such was the fate of all who breathed it; their deeds undone by the deadly flesh eroding properties of this all consuming fog.

_"Defiler!" _Crescents of biceps and knotted shoulder muscles and glowing eyes were all that appeared, followed by a whoosh of mist as a spinning sword came alight. A slaver toppled to the ground. By the time his head was free of his body, he was already gone, and onto the next. No one moved. It was impossible. An apparition that could not be harmed. Not by blade nor bullet nor fist.

Nothing could touch this divine demon of death.

_"Unclean! Unclean!"_ The demonic angel screamed, its whole figure glowing, burning blue. It killed left and right. Wreathed in blue flames, he descended upon the Hound Pets, carving a bloody swathe of destruction wherever he went. The flames spread with every step, leaping from one slaver to the next, sparing only one. Within minutes instead of hours, most of Peterman's men lay dead at his feet, and still the flames did not burn this man of the mist.

"N-No!" Peterman screeched, scrambling backward, away from the remains of his men, away from the mist of death away from the one who would kill him. "P-Please don't kill me!" Alas, but this only served to draw the murderer's attention toward him.

The blond cackled madly.

_"Don't kill you?"_

He stopped screaming, and it was long seconds before the sound stopped echoing through the slaver's den. He quieted the mist from his skin with effort. All that remained for him, was to erase the man who'd kidnapped Caimie in the first place. Unlike his men, he had been spared. For last. He came forward, wreathed in the fury and hatred and stretched one hand forward to Peterman, as if in greeting. The man_-truly he was such a frail thing compared to the raw intensity of this form-_and he backhanded him.

_Not gently._

**"Kamikiri." **He hissed through clenched teeth, pale wisps of smoke working their way through his fist, into the jaw of his victim. "May you burn forever in the flames of eternal damnation, _slaver." _

"N-No...please!"

A grisly squelching sound filled the room.

Peterman's skull met the back of the wall, as did his spine, but not the rest of his body. The rest of him crumpled to the floor in a fleshy, smoldering heap. Naruto stared at his ruined remainds for a moment longer, disgust etched into his every feature. Then he snapped his fingers. Flames raced across the floor, seeking out every nook, cranny, and corner, consuming all; engulfing every inch of wretched house that had once housed so many helpless slaves.

He straightened, bending at the knees as he rose to his full height. He surveyed his work and nodded, content. Had he the time, he would have made Peterman suffer for his crimes. He did not have such a luxury. Instead he swept his hand outward, sundering the door-what remained of it-before him, and stepping out into the grove once more. A harsh clack greeted his ears, followed the distinct scent of gunpowder.

"Not another step!" He recognized the blue and white amongst them; because these were the marines. Disgust warred with justice within him.

He laughed; it was a soft, whispery sound.

"My name, is Uzumaki Naruto. Remember it well, you who allow the subjugation of those who are oppressed." He beckoned, indicating the chaos and destruction that had not long ago been the Slaver Auction House. "Do you see this?" He asked. "This is your justice. This is your sin that the World Government permits, because the children of those twenty kings desire it to be so, because they, wish it to be. It is filth. It is perversion. It is decay."

He spread his fingers and turned his back on them, smiling beatifically.

"And now, it is gone."

The marines hesitated; not because they were unwilling to plug his backside full of lead, but for fear of what he might do to them once the wounds were inflicted. For this was no mere passerby, nor was he some minor criminal not even worth arressting. He'd once been apprenticed to Zabuza Momochi, head of the Demon Pirates, and now, surname of his was that of his mentor's. "Demon of the Mist" Uzumaki Naruto, his bounty formerly a paltry two million, now, over the last two years, it had been raised to a staggering sum of $398,000,000 berri for crimes against both government and humanity; making him "only the second most wanted man" in all the world.

Now, with the destruction of the Human Auction House-the government never called it that-and after freeing all its slaves, his bounty could only increase further. Perhaps that might even bring it to exceed that of the legendary "Strawhat" Luffy. Perhaps not. Regardless, these men knew better than to shoot. Even when presented with an opportunity as ripe as this one, they dared not.

He rounded on them, murder in his eyes.

"As am I."

He raised his hands and the mist swirled about him; wreathing the grove in fog. When next it had cleared, it was gone. He was gone, leaving naught but the charred wreckage that had once been pride of slavers everywhere_-if it could be said that a slaver had pride-_in utter ruination. All that remained was the soul-chilling laughter of he'd who'd first set fire to this very building...

* * *

_(Miles away)_

A swirl of mist heralded his arrival.

Materializing from the ground up, in took shape in a darkened alley. Sheltered from sight, hidden from the prying views of the world, the mist coalesced, taking once more the shape and flesh of human form. At length it paused, roiling, shifting, reassembling itself into humanity once more.

"Phew." He breathed a huge, heavy sigh of relief. "Now that I've finished up my business here, I wonder were she went?" He was referring of course, to his "Partner in Crime" the one person to whom he trusted his secrets more than anyone else. She had seen him through the death of Zabuza, the man who had been more a father to him than his own, and now, he could not find her. Because she was not here. Possibly the only woman in the world who could quell his bloodthirsty desires, Haku, was nowhere to be seen, not in the appointed meeting place, nor anywhere in the square of Saboady.

But scarce had he taken more than two steps...

_Grrrrrrrrgh._

He clutched at his stomach.

"Ehehe...I maybe I ought to eat something first." As if to second this thought, his stomach rumbled yet again. He patted his wallet depreciatingly, knowing full well that it was; because of course, he hadn't any money with him.

"Oops." He sweatdropped. "I knew I forgot something-_ah."_

Naruto turned a dour face toward the remains of his ship. Sweatdropping, the former pushed his way through the crowd still, making for a great oak door, above which hung a familair and heart warming sign. Without pause or pretense, he stomped toward the bar, and sat himself down. No sooner had he done so than a tankard of cold ale was in his hand; one he immediately began to guzzle at an alarming rate.

_'Now what?'_ He mused silently as the cool liquid coursed down his throat. _'Not only do I need a ship, but I need a crew!' _He remained utterly oblivious as an orange haired woman took the seat to his left, leaving her back conspicously turned._ 'There's no way in hell I can make it to Fishman Island without either! That's impossible! Impossible! How can I track down that man without a crew of some sort...'_

Steepling his fingers together, laying his glass down on the counter, he scowled into his drink.

How indeed?

**_KKRAM!_**

The sound of gunfire shattered his thoughts.

"Try reading the poster properly next time, dipshit!" A hoarse voice croaked from across the room. "The minimum bounty is seventy million! I ain't interested in talking to any captains with bounties lower than that!" There was a dull whump, and then something_-or someone-_struck the floor. "Hell, I'm amazed you even made it this far!" A great big oaf of a man was addressing a battered broken heap of a fellow who looked like he'd just been, interestingly enough, on the receiving end of a bullet.

Naruto watched in silence as the fat man continued to boast and brag about his greatness. He felt a twinge of suspicion, wondering that if this too, was just an act. Eventually he just shrugged and returned his attention toward his awaiting meal. As it turned out, the ale was good, but the meat-pies were infinitely better.

"Get out of here, trash!" Just when the man couldn't become anymore boisterous, he did just that. "I'm the son of the legendary revolutionary, Dragon, you know! Don't you bother coming back here unless you have a bounty of seventy million or higher, you hear!" Naruto's left ear twitched at that part. The son of Dragon? This fellow? He couldn't possibly be...that man?

He felt his hand sliding toward his weapon, the fingers curling around its worn and weathered hilt. This man had a bounty on his head. If he were to bring it to the Goverment then perhaps they might retract his own. Perhaps. It was a fleeting thought, and one he did not entertain lightly. If this man truly was Monkey D. Luffy_-he seriously doubted it-_then he would not go without a fight-

_"Something on your mind, stranger?"_

Naruto had been ignoring the raucus outside. It hadn't been any of his concern. Now he creaked an eye open as someone approached the empty seat at his right. He frowned, shifted in his chair, his left eye re-appearing over his shoulder, and immediately regretted it.

He found himself staring at...at...at...

_**"?"**_

Naruto half-turned, only to find his view suddenly blocked by a large_-very large-_pair of breasts. Attached to said breasts was a chest, and to that a neck; the latter eventually leading up to a darling pair of amber orbs that utterly captured his attention and captivated him. _Shit._ The owner of these eyes met his gaze and smiled politely brushing aside a stray strand of deep blue hair from that bewitching gaze, above which dangled the likes of what resembled an origami flower.

She was the girl from the pier; the one who'd been following him here. He'd suspected that he was being tailed after burning down the Auction House. That someone of beauty and such importance would be sent after him, did not bode well. Instead of speaking out as he wished, he opted for peace. Which if course, didn't sit well with him at all. Both slavers and slaves alike owed him; one was vengeance and the other was a debt of gratitude.

He couldn't guess for whom this woman worked; but the red-cloud and black skull insignia did plenty to inspire the imagination.

"A lot of things." He said, his face betraying nothing, his mind already racing. "And you?"

...more than I'd like to think about." she finished, fixated upon him. "May I join you?"

Naruto yawned.

"Ah, excuse me." he said. "Sure. I'm-

"Konan." She introduced herself abruptly, sweeping into the seat beside him. "And you are?"

"Naruto." He countered, unable to gve any other reply than a lie. "I'm a...traveling merchant."

"Fascinating," Konan smiled warmly, reaching into her right sleeve as she did so. "So tell me, Naruto-kun, do traders such as yourself regularly commit themselves to random acts of piracy?" She emerged with a charred piece of timber and summarily slipped it onto the bar between them, her gaze never leaving his, even for an instant. Naruto held the tortured piece of timber, took it in his hand, and frowned.

"I disavow any knowledge of arson on my property." He said at last.

"An eyewitness would say otherwise." Konan countered.

"I don't think that's any of your business." Naruto countered, smiling thinly. "Speaking of which, I take it you have a reason for cornering me here, on your home turf?" He did not think she'd be foolish to attack him openly, and so he yawned again. He hadn't freed those slaves because he'd wanted to; it merely been a matter of proffessional disgust and distaste. There was nothing personal about the way in which he'd slaughtered the slavers. Hell, he even considered saying "I've killed people like you" just to see what her reaction would be.

Oh, if only it were that easy.

"Iie." She shook her head. "You said so yourself; you're no enemy of mine. At least, not at the moment." She was pressing him; not only with her words but her gaze; making it increasingly difficult to look away, despite the ever growing ache in the pit of his stomach. And it wasn't hunger. Her scent, her perfume, her attire, nearly everything about Konan bespoke of it. Not just of anxiety or gratitude_-though these too could be seen in the features of her face-_but also of vulnerability.

Either she was a damned good liar, or she was deliberately trying to hash it out with him. Regardles of either...

_Gods she was cute!_

Maybe even too cute; because for every second he spent chatting up this bodacious beauty, his target was getting further and further away.

"Well, isn't that wonderful?" Naruto snapped back.

...not really." She turned aside, sparing a longing glance out the port-hole, the smallest of smiles adjourning her features at the sights she found there. "If it's not too much, I have a favor to ask of you." She exhaled softly, and a strong breeze gusted between them. turned chalk white. Her smile shattering like so many shards of glass, her mouth working wordlessly, Naruto eventually found his curiousity aroued. Reluctantly, he allowed his gaze to drift across the table and alight upon the spectacle that had captured her attention so and left her riveted.

That too, proved to be a mistake.

She glowered and Naruto trembled. He tried to turn his head, and found it locked in place. He tried to close his eyes, and found he couldn't blink. Konan smiled, and suddenly, it was Naruto who realized what exactly was holding him. Thin wisps of paper had coated themselves across his face, careful to keep the mist from the deck, spread his hands even; a small demonstration compared to the true depth of his power. His glazed over for a moment, then, incredibly, he was free. His skin glistened as though it were moist, moist like the mist itself; because he willed it to be so.

"So this is the power of the Kiri Kiri no mi." Konan mused softly, her pale features colored with wan amusement, perhaps even respect, even. "The most elusive of all Logia to be found in the world. Impressive, Uzumaki Naruto. Most impressive. And yet you reveal yourself now, by striking the heart of slavery itself. Tell me would Uzumaki Naruto as infamous as you are, do such a thing, oh Demon of the Mist."

Naruto did not honour her with a response, but his eyes said it all.

_"And you are?"_

"I've eaten the Pasa Pasa no mi." The woman revealed, slowly piecing herself together again. "I suppose you could say I'm a paper woman. Just as you are a man of the mist, Uzumaki D. Naruto, or perhaps I should call you by your title now?" Now it was Naruto's turn to glower. Konan didn't so much as bat an eyelash. Instead, she let her gaze slid across the bar, falling upon an orange haired woman who sat several seats away from them.

"Do you see that woman over there?" She asked. "The one speaking with the bartender."

Naruto nodded, albeit begrudgingly.

"In approximately thirty seconds, that bufoon over there, the fat fool who claims to be Monkey D. Luffy, is going to attempt to assault her." Naruto arched an eyebrow, though he said nothing as she continued. "I say attempt, because he and his cohorts will be foiled by a man with a slingshot. I cannot say the means he will use, but with the ensuing chaos of his attack, they will attempt to make good their escape while the imposters flounder helplessly about. During that attempt, I want you to tail them."

'Haki, huh?' Naruto mused, his curiosity piqued.

"Why should I do this for you?"

"Because I represent the Akatsuki Pirates." Konan let the statement hang unadorned between them. "I'm not sure if you've heard of us, but we're not an enemy you'd wish to make, and not lightly at that. I'm sure you've heard of what happened to Leaf Island, yes?" If her statement alarmed him then Naruto did precious little to show it. Leaf Island had once been a thriving paradise in the Grand Line. Supposedly, Akatsuki had used a certain superweapon to utterly eradicate it.

Naruto painted a smile onto his face.

"Akatsuki, huh? Who hasn't heard of them in this day and age?"

Konan remained dauntless.

"We'd like to hire you for your services."

Naruto paused, considering it.

"You mean myself, and my partner."

_'Once I track her down'_ Naruto mentally ammended.

"I beg your pardon?" Konan asked.

"I don't do anything without Haku." Naruto stated bluntly, idly referring to the senbon mistress that had become his traveling companion over the last two years or so. "Either you hire both of us, or neither takes the job. Konan seemed to consider this for a moment, as though weighing between the option of risking this taking her chances elsewhere with a client who wasn't guaranteed to suceed.

At length, she nodded.

"Very well. We're willing to procure both of your services."

"And those services would be?" Naruto inquired.

"We want you to track down Monkey D. Luffy and kill him."

The silence was deafening. Then:

_"Are you kidding me?"_

**A/N: YOHOHOHO! Thank you so much for all of you giving me all of these WONDERFUL ideas! I hope you liked the chapter! Yes this is a harem, but can our favorite blond be convinced to let Monkey D. Luffy go, or, perhaps he will join him? Oh, and I know I may die from asking this so may times, but...REVIEW PLEASE! Then again...being a skeleton...I am already dead! SKULL JOOOOOKE! YOHOHOHO!**


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